Focus Springfield Community Television gets new studio to go with new name, expanded mission

SPRINGFIELD – The city’s cable television station unveiled its new home Monday, a 6,500-square-foot media hub with two studios, a video lab, exhibition space and 21st century technology.

The opening, held by Focus Springfield Community Television, marked the beginning of a new era for public access television in Springfield, station manager Steve Cary told about 100 people attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“It’s a day to be grateful for a lot of things,” Cary said, expressing thanks to elected officials, contractors, studio employees and others who helped with the $1 million upgrade from the station’s old home in the Van Sickle Middle School auditorium.

The opening comes as the cable access station is adapting to a new identity and mission.

The operation, formerly known as the Springfield Media and Television Group, goes back to 1983 when the city granted its first cable television contract to Continental Cablevision.

Under the contract, the cable provider, now Comcast contributes annually to a city fund that finances community-based programming and other public services.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the name of the non-profit television group was changed to Focus Springfield Community Television to signal its sharpened focus on government, education and cultural events in Springfield.

The new studio, along with arrival of a University of Massachusetts satellite campus at Tower Square and the MGM International casino in the South End, will contribute to a more vibrant downtown, the mayor said.

The studio’s location - at State and Main, on the ground floor of an eight-story building that served as MassMutual’s first home - and glass exterior will boost public interest and participation, the mayor said.

“It’s going to be great to see the glass open up so people can see shows going on,” Sarno said.

Congressman Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield also noted that the public access television offers a more reasoned alternative to the relentless demands of the 24-hour news cycle and growth of social media.

The result, Neal said, is a cascade of partially reported stories shaping, and often distorting, public opinion.

“The news cycle does not take a breather; nobody steps back to think about it and separate fact from fiction,” he said.

The new center will be named for former mayor Theodore E. Dimauro, who struck the city’s first cable deal, Sarno said. The formal dedication will be held in the near future, he said.

The studio will allow local producers and city residents to learn the skills needed to develop and air programming on the city’s three public access channels: Public Channel 12, Education Channel 15 and Government Channel 17,

Services will be provided at no cost to Springfield residents, and video shooting and editing classes and mentoring will also be available.